There was a sharp ringing sound. A continuous ringing sound which filled everywhere. Perhaps this sound wasn't coming from the surroundings. No one heard it. Only him. It was coming from his own head.Ezra cracked his eyes open. His vision was a blur. A complete one. He couldn't see anything, and the sound around him was distorted. The only sound he could hear perfectly was the one in his head. And it was hurting really badly.Ah...he muttered inwardly. He was too weak to say anything. And very hurt as well. His entire body was hurting very badly.W-where am I? he tried asking himself. But except for the sharp ringing and distorted sound, he couldn't hear anything. He couldn't even see properly.He tried checking his player status but was too weak to do so. His mental state right now wasn't good at all. So he gave up on doing that.Instead, he lay down and took deep breaths. Right now, he was trying to concentrate on the Qi in the environment. He had to absorb all of them in order to

Kaelith the Crimson...The name alone rang several alarm bells within Ezra's mind. He didn't know why he was feeling this way, and he couldn't help it. His entire body was frozen for some moments.Why am I feeling so afraid of hearing this name? He thought within himself. She is really not ordinary if she's able to make me feel this way by just hearing her name...At that moment, he felt that Kaelith was on the verge of breaking through to become a grandmaster. Even though she was still a master, she appeared to be at the pinnacle of that level.I can't afford to offend someone like this...he thought within himself. I really need to tread carefully..."Why do you have that mortified look?" Kaelith asked him casually.Her behavior seemed nothing like a master. Ezra had not met a master before, but he imagined that they would be very aloof. Cultivation levels changed one's behaviour as well. He was a testament to this."It's just that I've not heard your name before," Ezra lied."You wo

Halak kept on walking through the hallway, Riordan on his shoulder. The candle lights burned slowly, their flames attempting to lick at the darkness. But it was futile. The darkness remained.It was as if these candles were lit for an entirely different purpose. They couldn't serve the main purpose of producing light...or even warmth. The cold and darkness persisted.As Halak walked, he could feel the evil around. It was in the air. It was everywhere. It was whispering within his ears.He had always felt this way ever since he joined the Horrendous sect. There were these gazes which seemed to stare at him from beyond—from another world.He had thought he would get used to this feeling as he advanced. But the more he advanced, the more the feeling grew. It was as if he were getting closer to whatever monster hid in the depths of the darkness.He had promised himself to advance to become a grandmaster so that he would slay whatever monster which was lurking within the darkness. But time

After Kaelith was done speaking with Ezra she flashed him a smile and stared at him for some moments. It was a very seductive smile. Her eyes narrowed slowly but they became brighter than usual.Ezra's face flushed the more, his cheeks becoming bright red. He didn't know why but he was feeling a strange kind of sensation all over. It was burning, yet sexual. It was very strange.SYSTEM HAS DETECTED AN UNKNOWN ABILITY!PLAYER IS FALLING UNDER ITS INFLUENCE!The notification flashed before his eyes, causing him to slowly regain his senses. He momentarily broke out of the young woman's enthrallment.SYSTEM IS ANALYSING THE ABILITY...SYSTEM IS...SYSTEM...SYS...Huh? Ezra became confused. He stared at the broken words written on the new holographic screen in front of him.Why is the Echelon System behaving abnormally? he thought within himself. Something seems to be wrong with it these days...Nowadays, the Echelon system has not been as active as it usually was. It no longer engaged in

After what seemed like several minutes, Ezra and Mira heard a knock on the door. This time, Kaelith was polite enough to knock softly without barging into the room.Mira glanced at Ezra with a complicated emotion. But her expression didn't betray that emotion. It was neutral. Perhaps she was silently comparing herself to the leader of Poison Ivy."Come in," Ezra said slowly. He didn't answer quickly because he knew Mira was obviously testing him.He knew that if he had answered too quickly, it would seem as if he had a thing for Kaelith. He would come off as someone who had been enthralled by Kaelith. So he took his time answering.The door clicked open, but no one came into the room for some moments. Ezra and Mira looked at each other—and then at the door. There was silence.He would have already summoned the Excalibur or even activated any of his potential abilities. But his senses didn't warn him of any omen. So he remained perfectly calm.The same couldn't be said for Mira, though